


sugar sugar, oh, honey honey.

by BeastGirl2k14



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, LMAO, Prompt Fill, Romantic Friendship, Sexual Tension, beronica, gaaaaay, there is no heterosexual explanation for Riverdale
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2018-09-22 09:46:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9602303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeastGirl2k14/pseuds/BeastGirl2k14
Summary: Request by anonymous:have you seen riverdale? its only a few eps in but its SO GAY so far. #beronica. could you write something about veronica and betty practicing for the sugar sugar cheer routine and the fact that betty is always staring at veronica when she has her dance solo both during practice and the actual performance? and maybe throw some fluffy stuff in there! we need more fluff with thesei love your work and i love beronica"Betty, stop staring at Veronica's ass and get into position!" Betty ducks her head under Cheryl's sharp gaze, a blush burning like wild fire across her face. She doesn't take her eyes off the floor until the music starts again, echoing around the gym.Betty avoids Veronica's curious gaze at all costs and steps over to her mark. Getting caught eyeing the back of Veronica's cheer skirt was about 10x more embarrassing when she was supposed to be mad at her, that's for sure.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Songs to read this fic to:   
> Teenager In Love - Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers  
> I Want You To Be My Girl - Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers  
> Sunday Kind Of Love - Etta James  
> Sugar Sugar - The Archies (and the Josie and The Pussycats version bc what a bop)  
> Boyfriend - Tegan and Sara ;)

Veronica, much to Betty's surprise, had arrived to cheer practice 10 minutes early today, beating Betty by 5. It was the first time she'd ever shown up before Betty. In fact, it was the first time she'd ever not been _late_ to cheer practice. 

Veronica was stretching out, her tan legs straight out in front of her and her chest flat against them, her fingers curled around her white sneakers and a look of determination on her pretty face. She peered up at Betty from over the toes of her shoes as Betty slowly made her way into the quite gym. Her gaze was intense, as always, and Betty looked away quickly, trying to ignore the feeling of a blush creeping onto her face. 

 _God,_ Betty thought.  _I blush at everything, what the hell._ She scowled down at her duffel bag as she dropped it next to the other River Vixen's cheer bags.

They were practicing in their uniforms today, to get comfortable before the pep rally tonight, but Betty felt anything but comfortable right now. Betty's skirt felt too short and her shirt too tight all of a sudden, as Cheryl and her sidekicks gave her an unimpressed glance, whispering to each other.

Veronica, on the other hand, was still peering intensely at Betty, and for some reason that eases the tension building in Betty's chest. (If not only to immediately replace it with a fluttering feeling in her stomach.)

-*-

Before Betty knows it, they're an hour into practice and Ronnie's going through her solo for the nth time, executing each movement with cat like elegance that Betty can only marvel at.

 _I saw this girl, I wanna know her name. She's got this body, it's driving me insane._ The recorded voices of Josie and The Pussycats seem to echo Betty's thoughts as her eyes wander down to the hem of Ronnie's skirt, flaring up with every pop of her hip and drag of her fingertips. Veronica bends at the waist, her skirt riding up sinfully high, giving Betty (and the rest of the team) a flash of her cheer underwear. Betty must have been staring too long, caught up in her thoughts for just a second over and suddenly she's out of step with the rest of the team, bumping into the girl next to her. She's apologizing, blushing again, picking up the girl's pompom for her when Cheryl's voice cuts through the chatter.

"Betty, stop staring at Veronica's ass and stay in sync!" Betty ducks her head under Cheryl's sharp gaze, a blush burning like wild fire across her face. She doesn't take her eyes off the floor until the music starts again, echoing around the gym. "Back in formation, Vixens!" Cheryl calls.  
Betty avoids Veronica's curious gaze _at all costs_ and steps over to her mark.

Getting caught eyeing the back of Veronica's cheer skirt was about 10x more embarrassing when she was supposed to be mad at her, that's for sure. She keeps her eyes from wandering for the rest of practice, only glancing Veronica's way as she's leaving, duffel bag resting against her hip and strap digging into her shoulder. Veronica's already staring back at her.

-*-

They're doing it. Betty, The Vixens, Josie and her band. They're pulling this performance off despite the rain and the gloom and the tension that had settled over Riverdale since Jason's body was found washed up on the bank of Sweetwater River. Betty's cheeks hurt from smiling so much, because she's doing this, despite the rain and Archie rejecting her and Veronica betraying her and the tension that had settled over them since Veronica kissed Archie in that closet--no, since Veronica kissed Betty in that gym. They're doing it and Betty couldn't be happier. 

She doesn't bother stopping her eyes from following Ronnie's movements as she dances, because her mom's too far away to see where she's looking and Cheryl's turned away from her and she can get away with it. She let's her eyes shamelessly follow the sway of Veronica's hips, the flex of her thighs, the way she bends, and then her solo is over, and she's turning around and her eyes are instantly on Betty.

Betty doesn't blush, not until Veronica winks at her and turns back around. They finish the rest of the routine together, Josie and Cheryl are hugging and The Vixens are running off the field to put there pompoms down and grab the arch. Veronica, for her part, only gives Betty a short, half smirk before they're back on the field again.

-*-

Betty's smiling again, as she leaves the locker room, Cheryl's quiet sobs and Veronica's hushed murmurs disappearing behind her. Betty is smiling because, despite the doubts she had about Ronnie, deep...or not so deep in her mind, she knows now, without a doubt, that she's a good person. She has to be.

Betty cheers through the rest of the game with The Vixens, helps them figure out what to do without Veronica and their captain until they finally return at halftime, Veronica looking a little tired, Cheryl looking a little too cheery for someone who just bawled her eyes out for at least half an hour, but that was Cheryl for you. Betty smiles at Veronica and almost laughs at the way Veronica's entire being lights up as she grins back.

They don't talk to each other until the game is over. Betty's so nervous and she doesn't know why, but she manages to get a yes out of Veronica anyway and a few minutes later, they're in Betty's car, headed downtown.

-*-

"I'll drive you home." Betty says as they wave goodbye to Archie and Jughead. It's late, really late. She knows she's got a lecture coming from her mom when she gets home, and she's keen to postpone that as long as possible. Veronica nods, yawning and wrapping her shawl around her shoulders against the cool Riverdale breeze. 

"Seatbelt." Betty chides when they get into her car and she starts pulling out of Pop's parking lot. 

"Yeah, yeah." Veronica yawns again, her teeth glinting in the receding fluorescent lights. She slides over to the middle front seat and makes a show of putting her seatbelt on, tightening the cross strap to fit over her small frame just right. Betty rolled her eyes and carefully merged onto Main Street. There weren't many people out this late, and no one drag raced down Main Street anymore since Sheriff Kelly got elected, but Betty was always a careful driver, no matter what.

"I missed you." Veronica sighs, leaning her head against Betty's shoulder as Betty drives. Betty laughs and Veronica looks up at her, curious and so puppy dog like in the way she tilts her head. "What?"

"We've been friends for, what, barely two weeks, and not even the entirety of those two weeks and you..." Betty shakes her head, smiling, trying to find the right order to put her words. "You act like we've been friends for years. Like we'll be friends forever."

"Can't blame a girl for hoping." Veronica grins and rests her head back on Betty's shoulder. She pretends not to notice Betty taking a few unnecessary turns, or how she starts driving ridiculously below the speed limit. She just closes her eyes and let's the sound of Betty's breathing and the low rumble of the engine of her car lull her into a half sleep. She wakes up in her bed, Smithers pulling the blanket up over her shoulders and setting her shoes down next to her bedside table.

"Your friend wanted me to tell you to call her in the morning, Miss Veronica." Smithers says, his kind face lit lowly by her bedside lamp. 

"Will do, Smithies." Veronica says through a yawn. Smithers smiles and turns out her lamp, keeping her door cracked just a little to let the hallway light in just the way Veronica likes as he leaves. She falls asleep thinking about Betty and her new friends in Riverdale, and for the first time in a while, she doesn't feel so scared about her future.

-*-

 _Veronica and I made up. I guess so did Archie and I. Tonight was nice. Really nice. Ronnie and I are going to get milkshakes again tomorrow. Her mom works at Pop's now, I guess._ Betty writes, her pen skritching against the pages of her journal.  _Thank god mom wasn't here when I got home. She would have killed me and then grounded my corpse for being out two hours passed curfew. I guess tonight is just my night. :)_

_-*-_

"Remember that time I kissed you?"

Betty chokes on her milkshake, grateful she'd only taken a small sip this time, or else Veronica's pretty dress would have ended up with Classic Vanilla all over it. 

"Yeah, I vaguely recall." She gives Veronica a look as she grabs a napkin and wipes milkshake off her chin. 

"That wasn't your first like...real kiss, was it?" Veronica asks, and she's speaking so casually, stirring her milkshake with her straw and peering at Betty in the usual way she does. (Which maybe, to someone who wasn't them, wouldn't be a usual way to peer at someone at all.)

"What?" Betty asks, confused. Realization doesn't take long to dawn and then she's shaking her head. "I've been to parties, Ronnie. I've played spin the bottle before."

"Those don't really count." Veronica says. Betty gives her another look, this one a little more poignant and Veronica winces. "Okay, maybe they count a little, but I mean a real kiss. Like, not because a bottle told you to kiss someone or any kiss that happened before the 5th grade. A real, because-you-wanted-to kiss."

"You kissing me wasn't a real kiss." Betty sips her milkshake and raises her eyebrows at Veronica, an unspoken challenge. A mix of emotions ripple over Veronica's expression before her pretty features settle on slightly feigned offense.

"Excuse me?" Veronica places a hand over her heart and Betty is already rolling her eyes. "It was real to me, Cooper." She says it jokingly, but when Betty glances up, she sees _maybe_ a glimmer of honesty on Ronnie's face.

"You were kissing me because you wanted to and not because you were trying to get a rise out of Cheryl?" Betty asked, curious now. Something was starting to flutter in her stomach again, the way it always did when Ronnie and her tested the boundaries of their friendship just a little.

"Couldn't I do both?" Veronica grins, the expression curling over her entire face in the Cheshire way she has to her. "Kissing the cute girl who'd been nice to me all day despite how my reputation might have proceeded me, and getting the infamous Cheryl Bombshell's attention enough to get us on the team? I call that two birds with one stone, Betts."

Betty rolls her eyes, but knows Ronnie can see the heat dusting pink across her cheekbones, even in the low lighting of Pop's in the evening.

"Yes, then." Betty says.

"Hm?" Veronica raises an eyebrow.

"You were my first real kiss." Betty tries to keep her smile small, but the way Veronica beams at her makes that nearly impossible. They're both grinning at each other like idiots over the edges of their milkshakes when Veronica seems to remember something. She leans to the side to look past Betty's shoulder, her grin turning impish as she gets the attention of her target a few booths down.

"You owe me twenty bucks, Jughead." She calls.

"Wha--WHAT? Are you serious?" Jughead groans. "C'mon!"


	2. Well, come on baby let's go downtown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous request: _I loved your Beronica fic! Will there be another chapter? I'd love to see some more of their little moments, maybe some from Veronica's perspective? Also more sexual tension and fluff for the win. Lol._
> 
> Veronica tilts her head up to meet her eyes, finds their faces just a little too close to each other to not be noticeable. "Yeah?" Veronica raises her eyebrows, the streetlights casting moving ribbons of shadow and light across her face as they passed outside.  
> "Yeah. I think you'll like it, but you can't tell anyone I showed you, okay?" Betty turns the car down a familiar road. They must be just a few blocks over from The Cooper home, from Archie's and Jughead's. "Especially not Jughead."  
> "At least buy me dinner first, Betty Cooper!" Veronica grins devilishly up at the side of Betty's face, watching her eyebrows crinkle in confusion before realization smooths her features out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betty's Playlist:  
> THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU - AL BOWLY (FUCK ME UP WITH THIS SONG AND THIS SHIP)  
> A Teenager In Love - Frankie Lymon and The Teen Agers  
> River - Bishop Briggs  
> Feeling Good - Nina Simone or the Avicii version.  
> Once Upon A Dream (Young Ruffian Remix) - Lana Del Rey  
> Tell Me - Johnny Jewel, Ft. Saoirse Ronan  
> No Surprise - The Shacks  
> Prisoner Of Love - Etta James  
> Warm On A Cold Night - HONNE  
> At Last - Etta James  
> FOOLS - Troye Sivan  
> I'd Rather Go Blind - Etta James  
> Get Like - Kehlani  
> All Of Me - Billie Holiday  
> Pull Me Down - Mikky Ekko  
> What A Diff'rence A Day Made - Dinah Washington  
> Shape Of You - Ed Sheeran  
> A Sunday Kind Of Love - Etta James  
> Cry Me A River - Dinah Washington 
> 
> Veronica's Playlist  
> Betty Cooper - Alan Gillies and The Blue Devils (lmao)

"R-I-V-E-R-D-A-L-E!"  _Don't fall. Keep your balance._ "Go Bulldogs!"  _God--fuck, don't fall. Cheryl will murder you when she get's out of jail._

Veronica glanced down at the auburn haired girl who had taken Cheryl's position underneath her, her hair held back out of her face by a blue and gold bow pinned to the back of her head. Veronica, for the life of her, couldn't remember the girls name, but she knew she was always hyper focused when they cheered, never once looking up at Veronica when she shifted on her shoulder. Betty, on the other hand, seemed to always be tuned into whatever frequency Veronica was on, because her hands tightened around Veronica's white sneaker, reassuring in a way, Veronica supposed. 

"I say Riverdale, you say Bulldogs!" Veronica shouted, yellow pompoms rustling in her hands. "Riverdale!"

"BULLDOGS!" The crowd shouted back at her. She could see her mom, still in her Pop's uniform, a jacket three times too large for her wrapped around her shoulders.  _Dad's jacket._ Veronica noted. She was sitting next to Archie's dad, both of them grinning and cheering along with the crowd.

"Riverdale!" Veronica yelled. Betty's hand squeezed her foot once, a silent  _You've got this, Ronnie._ before the pressure of her hands lightened. 

"BULLDOGS." Veronica could see Betty's mom, a highlight of blonde in a sea of dark hoods and Riverdale blue hats. She wasn't cheering back with the rest of the crowd. Veronica expected as much. No matter what, Veronica was certain Betty's mom would hate her forever. 

"RIVERDALE!" Ronnie shouted one last time.  _Please don't fall._

"BULLDOGS!" Barely reached Ronnie's ears before she was pushing up off of Betty and Whats-Her-Name's shoulders, their hands pushing up at the bottom's of her sneakers, launching her high into the air.

Everything felt like it went in slow motion when she was up in the air like this. The beat of the chilly rain (of course it rained on another one of their rallies) and the band seemed to slow down. The flash of a reporters camera glinted off the rain around Veronica. (The Riverdale Review's readers were going to get a full spread on how 'Murder Twin, Cheryl Blossom's Vivacious Vixens' were doing in her absence by tomorrow morning.) Veronica twisted her body, felt her muscles tense and stretch, as she spun in the air, rain whipping off of her hair and the ends of her skirt. _Perfect form, now stick the landing._

She caught sight of Jughead, lurking next to the bleachers like he always did just as gravity started tugging Veronica's body back down to earth. _What a creep._ Veronica thought fondly. 

Veronica's back was to the ground now, but she never for a moment worried she'd come into painful contact with the turf. No, not with Betty Cooper there to catch her. (And the other Vixens too, Veronica supposed.)

"Good job." Betty grinned at her, her head backlit by one of the stadium lights surrounding the field as Veronica landed in the basket catch they spent days practicing. The world came rushing back into Veronica's ears, the rain coming down, the band's slightly too loud brass section, Betty's breathing. Veronica regained her footing, never letting go of Betty's shoulders as the other Vixen's dispersed to retrieve their pompoms.

"You too." Veronica's fingers curled around Betty's jaw as she leaned up onto her toes to press a kiss against Betty's rain cooled cheek. Betty blushed like she always did and ducked her head.

"Ronnie!" She whispered harshly, sparing a nervous glance toward the crowd. "You're so lucky my mom didn't see that."

"You're lucky," Veronica corrected. "Your mom already hates me."

"She doesn't..." Betty began, her hand resting on Veronica's waist as they walked back toward the Vixen's section of the bleachers. Veronica barely even had to give her a look before she was correcting herself. "Okay, so she hates you, but she hates everyone I'm friends with."

"Except for Ethel Muggs."

"Except for Ethel Muggs." Betty laughs. They sit down on the cool metal of the bleachers, watch the football players slam into each other with brutal force, rain splashing off of their uniforms highlighted by the bright stadium lights. The band standing in the bleachers serves as sufficient cover between Veronica and Betty and Mrs. Cooper's line of sight. Betty seems to notice this too, let's Veronica sit maybe a little too close to her, doesn't stop her from putting one side of her cloak over Betty's shoulder to protect them from the rain. 

"Wanna go for a drive tonight?" Betty suggests, not looking away from the game. Veronica can tell she's not actually watching the game, notes the way she's fidgeting with her hands in her lap.

"I'd love to." Veronica grins at the side of Betty's face. 

-*-

"Wait..." Veronica's smile spreads across her face slowly, tucks into her cheeks in just the right way to be 1. incredibly intimidating, 2. alarmingly adorable and 3. unfathomably annoying. Her teeth glint as white and bright at the pearls at her throat, and Jesus Fucking Christ, she's wearing a cape. A fucking cape. _Who_ is this girl? "Are you...?"

"Supposed to give you your tour tomorrow? Yes." Betty finishes for her.

So, okay, Betty _knows_ who this girl is. She may or may not have internet stalked her a little bit when she was assigned to give her a tour when news hit she was enrolling at Riverdale High.

At first, Betty didn't believe she'd looked up the _right_ Veronica Lodge. This girl had a _Wikipedia page_ for god's sake. After realizing that, yes, she was going to be giving  _that_ Veronica Lodge a tour, Betty's fingers led her to four social media accounts that she confirmed were actually Veronica's ( _she's Twitter verified, what in the fresh hell_ ), a plethora of articles about her father, the now infamous embezzler Hiram Lodge, and a few about Veronica and her mother moving to  _an undisclosed retreat to get away from the bustle of the big city, "to let Veronica have a chance at a normal childhood."_ _said Hermione Lodge, wife of recently arrested Hiram Lodge and mother of their only child, Veronica Lodge._

Betty avoided actually going through any of Veronica's social media, to avoid being to creepy, if not for her own sanity. She scrolled through her Instagram just a little bit, because  _gosh, does this girl ever not look like a super model?_ before decided she had all the background she needed to be a decent tour guide come Monday.

(The answer seemed to be no.)

"Hmm." Veronica's smile turns a little more predatory for a moment and Betty pretends not to see her eyes drop to Betty's kitten heels and then back up. Betty feels an uncomfortable flipping in her stomach, and when she glances at the way Archie is peering up at Veronica, she knows she's not the only one feeling the affect of her charms.

-*-

"It makes me sleepy when you drive this slow." Veronica murmurs softly over the low sound of the stereo playing one of Betty's favorite playlists and the rumble of the engine of her car.

"Sorry." Betty says, speeding up to _only_   _7 miles_ below the speed limit. Veronica rolls her eyes but doesn't say anything else. She's taken up her usual position in the middle front seat of Betty's car, her head leaned against Betty's shoulder, her fingers toying with the edge of the blanket that normally stayed in the backseat but was now wrapped around their shoulders. They're still in their cheer uniforms, the cool dampness of rain still on their skin, but Veronica couldn't think of a more comfortable place to be.

"Did you want me to drive around until you...?" Betty asked, glancing at her for a brief moment before her eyes were back on the road. They'd fallen into an odd pattern with this. They'd go get milkshakes at Pop's, sometimes with the boys, sometimes without, do something else, but they'd always inevitably end up in Betty's car, driving around Riverdale and the surrounding backstreets until Veronica dozed off. It had only happened three times, but threes enough to call it a pattern, right? 

"No...I'm not that tired..." Veronica mulled over her words for a moment, Betty glancing at her again to watch her think. "Do you wanna come over tonight? Sleep over maybe?"

"I told my mom I was studying at Ethel Muggs' tonight." Betty said. She'd been using that excuse for their late night drives a lot recently. "I don't know if she'd be okay with me asking to sleep over at your place..."

"You could say your sleeping over at Ethel's." Veronica suggests. "Ethel and her parents adore you, they'll cover." 

Betty chewed on her lip, shifting a little under Veronica's head. "I don't know, Ronnie..." Betty mumbled. Veronica lifted her head to study the side of Betty's face, bathed in green and blue light as they passed the comic book shop with the ridiculously bright signage.  

"It's okay, we can just drive around a little more." Veronica sighed, settling her head back onto Betty's shoulder.

"Are you disappointed?" Betty asked, the anxiety clear in her voice.

"Not with you." Veronica reassures quickly. "Only that I don't get to spend more time with you tonight. It's okay. We can hang out tomorrow. Breakfast at Pop's maybe?"

Betty smiled and pressed her lips against the top of Veronica's head. "That sounds great, Ronnie." She murmurs into Veronica's hair. "Hey, I wanna show you something." Betty says suddenly, her hands tightening on her steering wheel with newfound purpose.

Veronica tilts her head up to meet her eyes, finds their faces just a little too close to each other to not be noticeable. "Yeah?" Veronica raises her eyebrows, the streetlights casting moving ribbons of shadow and light across her face as they passed outside.

"Yeah. I think you'll like it, but you can't tell anyone I showed you, okay?" Betty turns the car down a familiar road. They must be just a few blocks over from The Cooper home, from Archie's and Jughead's. "Especially not Jughead."

"At least buy me dinner first, Betty Cooper!" Veronica grins devilishly up at the side of Betty's face, watching her eyebrows crinkle in confusion before realization smooths her features out.

"Oh my god, you're actually five years old." Betty groans, rolling her eyes and elbowing Veronica lightly. Veronica giggles and scoots even closer to Betty, if that were possible with her seatbelt on. Somehow, Veronica manages it and Betty's senses are assaulted by everything _Veronica_. The warmth of her body heat pressed to Betty's side, the smell of her _all-natural, organic rose_ shampoo, the sound of her singing softly along with Etta James playing through Betty's grainy car speakers.

 _God, mom would kill me if she caught me cuddled up with Veronica Lodge in my car at 11:13pm._ Betty thought, but that didn't stop her from leaning into Veronica, hearing her sigh happily.

-*-

Veronica tried her best to be quite whenever she came home late. She always had, even when they lived in a city as constantly loud as New York. She thought sneaking in would be easier living in Riverdale, what, with no obnoxious neighbors to shout at her from _the building over_ or loud sirens to make it through the soundproofing of the door as she slipped passed it. But, of course, she was mistaken. Even with her shoes off, her footsteps seemed unnecessarily loud, echoing off the marble floors of The Pembrooke, and if that weren't enough, apparently the door to their apartment creaked. How had she never noticed that before?

"Veronica?" The sound of her mother's voice made Veronica jump and, she'd deny it if questioned about it, squeak. 

"Mom!" She spun on her heels and smiled softly at her sleep mussed mother. "Hi. I didn't mean to wake you."

"I wasn't really sleeping." Hermione mumbled, rubbing at her eyes. "There was an update in your dad's case." 

Veronica feels like someone just dumped a glass of cold water down the back of her cheer uniform. "And?" She asks, hoping her face is staying in the perfect stoic mask she's trying to force it into.

"A few testimonies have been retracted. Some of his partners admitted to lying about certain details and their entire statements are being thrown out." Hermione explains, a smile tugging ever so at the corners of her mouth.

"Oh, mom, that's great." Veronica grins, dropping her shoes on the floor to wrap her arms around her mother's shoulders. "That's so great." She says, despite the fact she knows that a few bad statements won't be what it takes to change anything about her father's legal standing. 

"Honey..." Hermione says as they pull apart, her eyes on the collar of Veronica's cheer uniform.

"Yeah?" She reaches up to make sure she didn't have mud on her neck. She wiped at her collar and her fingertips came back smeared pink. She feels blood rush to her cheeks. Veronica Lodge  _was not_ a blusher, but getting caught by your mom with _Betty Cooper's signature shade_ on your collar was grounds for a little blushing. "O-oh, uh..."

"I didn't think Betty Cooper was that kind of friend, Ronnie." Hermione is smiling knowingly at her and Veronica kind of hates it. 

"She's not!"  _That's kind of a lie. She sort of is._ "She..." Veronica searched her mind for how she could have ended up with Betty's lipstick smeared on her collar. It really was no fun getting caught for something she didn't even have the _fun of doing_. "She hugged me, she must of gotten a little lipstick on me then."  _God dammit, that sounds like the worst excuse ever made up by anyone ever._

"Okay, honey." Hermione laughed. "Go get into your PJs and go to bed, alright? I'll have Smithers wash your shoes and your uniform in the morning." 

-*-

 **Veronica:** you got lipstick on my collar and now my mom thinks we're hooking up. 

 **Veronica:** so, there's that. did yours question you for coming home so late?

 **Betty:** :o Oh, gosh, Ronnie, I'm sorry.

 **Betty:** My mom wasn't home, again. Dad questioned me a little for having mud all over me, but he was two doses of Nyquil in, so he was easy to get away from. :)

 **Veronica:** nbd. and lucky girl!

 **Veronica:** are we still on for breakfast tomorrow?

 **Betty:** Of course! I can come pick you up at 8?

 **Veronica:** it's a date. 

 **Betty:** Your mom will think so. ;)

 **Veronica:** cheeky

 **Veronica:** did you want me to invite the boys?

 **Betty:** No. This is a you and me only breakfast. :)

 **Veronica:** sure sounds like a date to me.

 **Betty:** Who has breakfast dates anymore, Ronnie?

 **Veronica:** i think i've seen jughead have plenty of dates with his breakfast at pop's.

 **Betty:** HA. It's funny because it's true.

 **Betty:** I'll see you at 8, Ronnie. :*

 **Veronica:** xoxo

-*-

 **Veronica:** hey, are you up?

 **Jughead:** No.

 **Veronica:** great, guess what.

 **Jughead:** No.

 **Veronica:** betty took me up to your treehouse.

 **Jughead:** WHAT?!

 **Veronica:** :)

 **Jughead:** Are you serious? God, what part of 'secret treehouse' did Archie and Betty not get? 

 **Jughead:** I mean this has been happening since we were 7 years old, Veronica.

 **Jughead:** First Archie brings Reggie up there.

 **Jughead:** Then Betty bring Cheryl and Polly.

 **Jughead:** Then they both brought Ethel FUCKING Muggs up there.

 **Jughead:** And now Betty has added YOU to the guest list?? What in the fresh hell did they not understand about 'don't bring anyone up here, you goddamn heathens'?

 **Veronica:** :)

 **Jughead:** Please tell me you guys didn't make out up there? There was a dark, dark period in middle school where people would go up there to make out and I still cannot get the smell of hormones and Axe body spray out of there.

 **Veronica:** not this time. ;)

 **Jughead:** I hate you.

 **Veronica:** you'll get over it.

-*-

 **Jughead:** What. Part. Of. Secret. Tree. House. Did. You. Not. Get?

 **Betty:** The secret part, probably.

 **Betty:** I'm sorry, Jug, but we were over there and it was such a nice night...

 **Jughead:**  It's half a mile into the woods and no where near where either of you live. Also, **i** t was raining.

 **Betty:** And I didn't think you'd mind if it was just me and Veronica.

 **Jughead:** I told you the last time you brought people up there that I mind. I mind A LOT.

 **Jughead:** Also, consider this: 'just you and Veronica' is not a comforting statement.

 **Betty:** Sorry, Jug. 

 **Betty:** Hey, why are you texting me from three booths away?

"Because I can, so fuck you." Jughead growls over the edge of his phone as he meets Betty's gaze. She's turned around in her booth, smiling over her shoulder, Veronica smirking from behind her, her mouth a slash of red, playing off the dark merlot of her dress. 

"Be nice!" Hermione bopped Jughead on the head with a menu on her way over to Betty and Veronica's booth. "Classic Vanilla milkshake, an egg sandwich and a side of bacon for Betty," Hermione winked at the blonde as she sat down her food, making her duck her head. "And a double chocolate milkshake, avocado on toast and an order of sweet potato fries for Ronnie."

"Thanks, mom." Veronica grinned. 

"You two have a good time, alright?" Hermione gave Ronnie a look that made her roll her eyes before she disappeared back into the kitchen.

"Your mom really thinks we're dating." Betty comments as she sips at her milkshake, watching Veronica lick a bit of ketchup off her lip.

"I did tell her about kissing you during tryouts, so." Veronica shrugs. "I think she thinks we just have a very romantic friendship."

Betty giggles at that, taking a bite of her sandwich.  _That's one way to describe it._

 


	3. bonus chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous request: _can you have veronica 'platonically' kissing on betty all the time and then one day betty just snaps and confronts her about her 'overly flirty and confusing behavior'?_
> 
> Veronica leans up, she always has to lean up with Betty, and presses a kiss to the corner of her mouth, far too intimate to be played off as a _best-girl-friends_ kind of display of affection.  
>  Betty's instinct is to blush, but Betty Cooper is done with blush. She grabs Veronica's wrist before Veronica can walk away from her and pulls her back into her personal space.  
> "We need to talk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter doesn't really follow the same continuity as the other have, not that there's much continuity there, and also I wrote it all in one go with no editing, just to get it out of my system...so there's that. Enjoy!

"Catch you on the flipside." Jughead says, jumping over the back of Their Booth (trademark pending), rather than dealing with the drama of displacing Veronica.

"Bye, Jug." The group echoes in different variations as Jughead salutes and pushes through the door of Pop's. The bell rings above his head and then he's gone, leaving the three of them. It's stopped being awkward for the most part. Betty's not completely over Archie, that much is obvious, but with Veronica's friendship---best friendship and cheerleading as a distraction, any lingering feelings for Archie are much easier to ignore. Veronica's too busy mooning over Betty (in a friend way, of course) to really think about Archie too much, and Archie...Well, who knows what the hells he's thinking about, but it sure isn't either of them.

Veronica slides in to fill Jughead's vacated seat, her feet bumping into Betty's under the table. Neither of them move. Rather, Veronica kicks off her heels to settle her feet on top of Betty's sneaker without hurting her, and Betty just gives her a slightly curious glance. For the most part, Betty had gotten used to the oddities of being friends with Veronica Lodge. Physical boundaries didn't really exist to her until she was reminded of them (read: "Veronica, you cannot hug me like that in front of my mom." "Veronica, please stop trying to fight people twice your size, you do not know how to throw a punch.") and even then, she seemed either unsure of what was the appropriate way to interact with someone or so sure of herself that she could get away with it. ( _Probably a little of both_ , Betty thinks.)

"Okay." Archie says after several minutes talking to Betty about guitars or cars or something, Veronica hadn't really been paying attention. "I better head home. You comin' with or are you guys gonna stay here?" He stands, brushes the crumbs and spitballs Jughead had launched at him earlier in the night off of his shirt.

"I'm staying if Betty is." Veronica's smile curls across her face and Betty doesn't even have to look to know Veronica's staring intensely at the side of her face,  _as usual._

"Still have to finish my milkshake." Betty says, lifting her glass, still half full of ice cream. 

"Okay, see you later." Archie hands some money to the cashier and leaves.  _For someone so generally inconsiderate, he sure does pay for our food a lot._ Veronica muses.

"You've only got 30 minutes til curfew, Cooper." Veronica presses her feet down lightly on Betty's and Betty bites down on the straw in her mouth. 

"I drove here." Betty tilts her head toward her car, sitting in the neon light basked parking lot of Pop's. 

"Wanna get out of here and give me a ride home?" Veronica suggests. When Betty glances up at her, she's grinning in that Cheshire that sends Betty's stomach into flip-flops.

"Sure." Betty says, taking one last sip of her milkshake before sliding out of her side of the booth.

"You're a doll." Veronica links her arm with Betty's and leans her head against her shoulder as they walk out to her car.

-*-

It's one of Smither's rare days off, so Betty has the chance walk Veronica up to her door without having him awkwardly pretend not to be listening in on their conversations.

"Thanks again for the ride." Veronica grins, her face lit softly by the hang chandeliers of The Pembrooke. "I really should be paying you with how often you end up chauffeuring me around."

"Friends don't charge friends for things, Ronnie." Betty reminds, and she thinks maybe that's not how things were in New York with how many times Veronica had tried paying her for rides, or food or advice. The advice one was weird, seeing that she'd only asked what the best way to get on Mr. Vandersnoot's good side was. (read: chocolate.) but again, Betty guessed things worked differently in New York.

"Right." Veronica leans up, she always has to lean up with Betty, and presses a kiss to the corner of her mouth, far too intimate to be played off as a _best-girl-friends_ kind of display of affection.

Betty's instinct is to blush, but Betty Cooper is done with blushing. She grabs Veronica's wrist before Veronica can walk away from her and pulls her back into her personal space.

"We need to talk."

Veronica looks a little surprised at how serious Betty suddenly sounded, at the way her face had dropped the dreamy fondness it normally held when she looked at Veronica. Betty's eyes looked a little desperate, a little confused, a little angry and Veronica tilted her head at the sight. She raised her eyebrows and said: "Okay, talk."

"What's with you kissing and touching me the way you do all the time?" Betty blurted after a few seconds of mulling over her words. "I'm not saying I don't like it--I'm not saying I do...I'm just saying...I'm not used to it...I don't know what it means..."

Betty expected a lot of reactions out of Veronica, but half concealed laughter into the back of her hand wasn't really one of them. "I-I'm sorry...It's just..." Veronica gets her laughter under control in just a few seconds, still smiling and fighting off a few last giggles when she says: "It just means I like you, a lot, and I'm a very touchy person. I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable. I can stop."

"No...no, it's okay...I was just curious." Betty mumbles, any earlier confusion fueled bravery she had now dissipating away and leaving her blushing.

Veronica's hands slid up the side of Betty's dress to rest on her waist, the pressure of her fingers neither to heavy nor too light in that oh-so Veronica way. "Are you sure? It's not a big deal if you aren't okay with me touching you, I get it." She leans so that Betty's forced to meet her eyes, forced to see the honesty there.

"It's okay, really." Betty reassures, resting her hands on Veronica's shoulders to further her point. "I just needed some clarity. I'm new to having friends like you." 

"Friends like me?" Veronica asks. 

"Friends who I haven't known all my life." Betty laughs. "You're all new and exciting. That's why everyone at school is half obsessed with you."

"You included?" Veronica pushes. She's always pushing, Betty thinks.

"No. Me, Archie and Jughead are fully obsessed with you. Cheryl too, I bet." Betty grins at the way Veronica lights up at that, thinks maybe she hasn't had something like that said to her in a while. 

Before Betty can really react, or Veronica can really think about it, she's lunging forward, slinging her arms around Betty's neck and pulling her into a tight hug. Betty almost falls over as Veronica tugs her close, tumbling to keep both of them balanced. 

"Oh--jeeze." Betty laughs, breathless and sweet in Veronica's ear.

"I adore you, Betty Cooper." Veronica grins as she pulls back, still keeping Betty close with her arms around her neck. "You are by far the best friend I've ever made." and she says it like she wants to announce it to the world. (Betty's half-convinced she would if she were given the chance.)

"You're the best friends I've ever made too, Veronica Lodge." Betty grins back and she finds that she means it. She thinks that, she loves Archie and she loves Kevin, and in a weird way, she loves Jughead but Veronica's in a whole different category. 

"I'd invite you to come up, but we both know your mom isn't nearly as fond of me as you are." Veronica's teasing now and Betty rolls her eyes, shaking her head. "Call me tomorrow?"

"Of course." Betty nods, letting go of Veronica's waist when she finally let's go of her shoulders, Veronica's fingers trailing along Betty's arms for just a few moments.

"Goodbye, Veronica Lodge." Betty waved as she walked back toward the front door of The Pembrooke.

"À la prochaine, Betty Cooper." Veronica called as Betty grinned and disappeared back into the cool Riverdale night air.

 


	4. Veronica Lodge: Doing The Most

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Request from Tumblr User bootyjudge: _Beronica + wearing each others clothes or Veronica + shamelessly flirting with Betty_  
>  (*insert the how about both gif here*)  
> Ft. Jealous!Veronica bc y'all are so thirsty for it. 
> 
> Also some Bughead v. Beronica stuff thrown into the mix for fun.
> 
> I may or may not be writing a ~~Betty/Veronica + Betty/Jughead (ish) + Veronica/Cheryl + Betty/Veronica/Cheryl + Josie/Cheryl + Archie's Abs/Everyone + Betty/Everyone + yikes~~ fic a la A Better Redhead To Dote On. No promises it'll ever see the light of day tho. ;)

"Here is your laundry, Miss Veronica." Smithers, voice low and footsteps barely audible across Veronica's bedroom floor, said. Veronica could feel the heat radiating off of the freshly dried clothes placed at the end of her bed, pressing her toes into them and sighing happily at the sensation. "Your school day starts in an hour, Miss. I do believe it is time to get up."

"I do believe you're right, Smithers." Veronica grumbles from somewhere in her cocoon of downy comforters and microfiber blankets. "Yet, here I am. Still in bed."

"Yes. Yes, you are." Smithers has some kind of fondness in his voice, hidden under his gruff pride and well practiced politeness, that he thinks Veronica doesn't hear, but she always hears it, always smiles at it, even this early in the morning. "Oh, and I put Miss Cooper's cardigan into your laundry as well."

Smithers, _the sly bastard_ , just gives Veronica the smallest of smiles, when she rises from her blankets in an almost _Nosferatu_  fashion, and waves as he exits her bedroom, Hermione's freshly laundered clothes in his arms.

Veronica clambers out of bed, scooping her Versace robe off the ground and tugging it on quickly to escape the bite of the chilly morning air. Say what you will about the lavish (by _Riverdale_ standards) Pembrooke, but it always seemed to be just this side of drafty in the mornings. Veronica was from _New York_ , she could _handle_ the cold, but that didn't mean she enjoyed it. And Riverdale's cold seemed to have a certain kind of bite to it that really got down to Veronica's bones.

Betty's cardigan sticks out from Veronica's dark clothes like a _pretty pastel pink_ sore thumb. Veronica tugs it out from between one of the skirts she got at the New York Fashion Show last year and one of the old shirts her dad gave her to sleep in before --- well, _before_.

Veronica glances around her room, as if there was someone there spying on her, lurking in the shadows behind her open closet door, in the closet itself, in the vent above her bed, or peering through her windows and their thin gossamer curtains. When she's sure no one is watching her, _as sure as one can be in Riverdale,_ she supposed, she brings the pink fabric up to her face, pressing her nose against the soft knit to inhale deeply and -- It smelled like the detergent her mom brought home the first day they'd moved here, saying that it was what she used when she was a kid, that they only sold it at Lili's General Store down on the northside of Riverdale, that _this is what we came to Riverdale for, mija_. Veronica crinkled her nose at that when her mom had said it, but now she thinks she starting to understand. They could have gone anywhere in the world, but they came here, and for what?

Authenticity.

When Hiram Lodge had been arrested, and finally, a few painful days later, charged with embezzling, Ronnie's friends made themselves scarce, save for a few. and Hermione's _country club going, tennis playing, martini sipping fellow wealthy housewives_  made her an example on a particularly horrible Friday night. 

Here in Riverdale, the Lodges found an endless supply of authenticity. Even Cheryl was authentic in her own way, even Alice Cooper, even Betty Cooper and her darker, lingerie wearing _alter ego_ , were more authentic than anyone in New York had ever been. Even in a town drenched in secrets and lies and the memory of a very dead boy, there was authenticity.

Veronica presses her nose firmer into the fabric, can just barely catch the scent of Betty's perfume -- vanilla, of course, with an undertone of something spicier. _So painfully Betty._

Veronica shrugs her robe off like it's _Gucci_ rather than _Versace_ , letting it pool around her feet on the floor and kicking it away from her.

Betty's cardigan was pretty loose on Betty herself, but on Veronica, it was certifiably oversized. She had to roll up the sleeves, cuffing them at her wrists, cursing Betty's long ( _beautifulsexyenviable_ ) limbs as she struggled to keep her hands free of the sleeves. The hem of the cardigan stopped just below the top of Veronica thigh, and Veronica imagined the look on Betty's face of she ever saw her in it, maybe in her underwear like she is now. Veronica longed to see the blush that would stain Betty's cheeks and---

Veronica grabbed a white button up and her NYFW skirt out of her fresh laundry (if she was going to try to be a character straight out of one of Betty's wet dreams, she was going to go all out.) and all but skipped to her en suite bathroom, grabbing her glasses off her dresser as she passed.

Not only was she going to make Betty Cooper blush, but she was going to make her blush in front of their entire homeroom, so help her god.

-*-

"Betty, code violet, I just saw Veronica down the hall and she--" 

Kevin trailed off, eyes going wide at something over Betty's shoulder, and normally Betty wouldn't have been too alarmed by Kevin's dramatics, but the entire classroom around them went silent with him and _that_ was alarming.

Betty's eyebrows scrunched together and she tilted her head at Kevin's slackjawed expression. His eyes returned to her face and his expression turned from shock and awe to pity and vague amusement.

 _Sorry_. He mouthed just before Betty heard the distinct click of heels on the linoleum behind her. She gave Kevin one more curious look before turning around on her stool and --

 _Fuck. Ohmygod_. She barely stopped herself from saying that out loud as the sight before her sank into her mind, searing into her brain and she was sure she was going to have _dreams_ about this moment. 

Veronica Lodge, heels to _god_ , the elegant curves of her thighs on dislay under her tight skirt, white button up shirt unbuttoned maybe one too many buttons and over that---Betty's cardigan, contrasting heavily against Veronica's dark hair, playing nicely off the tone of her skin, and at least two sizes too big for her. Veronica's eyes, behind a pair of _oh so fashionable_ glasses that were probably worth more than Betty's car, glinted with mischief, and a weight settled in Betty's chest because  _oh my god, today's the day Veronica Lodge murders me._

Veronica would look adorable in that oversized cardigan, maybe, if Betty weren't so turned on by it, turned on by something so obviously Betty's on Veronica, a physical indication of their connection for all to see and ---- _fuck why am I into that??_

Betty nearly choked on her own spit, watching Veronica come toward her, eyes trained carefully on Betty's burning face and everyone else's eyes trained on _her_. Josie whistled from her seat next to Cheryl, breaking up some of the tension in the room enough for people to laugh and go back to their conversations, Veronica still in their peripheries.

"Hey, B." Veronica smirked and _oh god, she knew exactly what she was doing right now._

-*-

 **Kevin:** omfg that was amazing!!!! 

 **Kevin:** although did u see how j was glaring at u 

 **Veronica:** well, of course. i'm definitely stepping on his toes, and in these heels, that's got to sting.

 **Veronica:** it's not my fault j. scott fitzjones can't say the word boyfriend or actually ask betty out. 

 **Veronica:** snooze you lose.

 **Kevin:** ohmygod ur so extra i love u 

-*-

"That's mine." Betty said as they exited homeroom, struggling to get her backpack on and keep up with Veronica (read: for someone with such short legs, Veronica sure was fast.)

"Is it?" Veronica's voice feigned innocence, but as soon as she glanced at Betty, her face cracked into a Cheshire grin, her eyes taking in Betty's blush greedily. "You left it at my place last week, I didn't think you'd mind if I wore it."

"I-I don't." Betty swallowed, adjusting the straps of her bag on her shoulders.

_Keep it together, Betty. She's doing this on purpose, find out why...Nancy Drew wouldn't let this temptress get the best of her!_

"Oh?" Veronica raised an eyebrow, and the light in her eyes told Betty she knew Betty did, in fact, mind. "Good, because I really do like this cardigan. It's cozy. Still smells like you too." Veronica mentioned casually as she opened her locker. Betty was glad she could hide the bashful smile that tugged into her burning cheeks behind the metal door while Veronica fished out her books and papers.

Veronica's locker closed with a metallic clang, and Betty was _aware_  of the pink still coloring her cheeks, she didn't need Veronica's smirk to confirm it, _thank you very much._

"See you in Biology." Veronica leans up and presses her lips to the warmth of Betty's cheekbone, grinning when Betty ducked her head, embarrassed but still smiling a little.

"See you..." Betty mumbled as Veronica walked down the hall, disappearing into her math classroom. 

-*-

 **Jughead:** So. What in the fresh hell are you playing at?

 **Veronica:** whatever would you be referring to, mr. jones?

 **Jughead:** The cardigan, the flirting, the reason why Betty keeps blushing at her phone every few minutes.

 **Veronica:** afraid of a little friendly rivalry? 

 **Jughead:** No. But, you seem to be ignoring three important facts while getting your kicks out of this.

 **Jughead:** 1\. Betty is straight.

 **Jughead:** 2\. We have a thing.

 **Jughead:** 3\. You're cuter than me, but who's been here for Betty all week?

 **Veronica:** 1\. sure, jan.

 **Veronica:** 2\. a thing? you mean kissing? because i've kissed her too. 

 **Veronica:** 3\. we're both cute, and you had your week, i had mine, i say the score is even right now. your move. 

 **Jughead:** So, this is a game to you?

 **Veronica:** of course not. how shallow do you think i am?

 **Jughead:** Do you really want me to answer that?

 **Veronica:** pish posh. doesn't really matter. all i care about is Betty. if she ""chooses"" you, ill respect it. i expect the same of you. 

 **Jughead:** Did you just make me read the words "pish posh" with my own two eyes? 

 **Jughead:** Fine. If that's how you want to do this, fine. Betty and I have a connection. Batting your eyelashes and wearing her clothes isn't going to change that.

 **Jughead:** Ew, did I just say "Betty and I have a connection"?? A connection??

 **Jughead:** Who am I???

 **Veronica:** this girl, j. jo. she does things to people.

 **Jughead:** Yeah, okay, well, anyway, I have a rule where the moment someone calls me "J. Jo" I leave immediately, so.

 **Veronica:** that's fair.

 **Veronica:** hey, by the way, Pop said you can eat at the diner for free, okay? mom convinced him pretty easily.

 **Jughead:** No one knows how to keep a secret in this town. Honestly, how is there a murderer on the loose? 

 **Veronica:** another riverdale mystery.

-*-

 **Jughead:** Thanks. 

**-*-**

Kevin Keller was no fool. He saw _B &V_ coming before _they_ did. He saw it in the way Veronica looked at Betty on their tour, how she spoke to her at their first lunch together, how Betty looked back, how she smiled at the things she said. Hearing about the kiss at tryouts from a very confused Betty Cooper over a series of caps lock heavy texts, only confirmed Kevin's suspicions.

_Things I know about Veronica Lodge by Kevin Keller: Day one:_

_1\. wittily clever_

_2\. very modern Jackie-O_

_3\. probably bi af_

_4\. heart eyes for Betty Cooper._

Then _Closetgate_ happened and even Kevin questioned Veronica's intentions, her feelings for Betty and her _reformed mean girl_ shtick. _That_ was quickly stifled by the flowers, ( _yellow for friendship my gay ass_ ,) and the card, and the cupcakes, and the pedis, and the honesty on Veronica's face as she begged for any scrap of Betty's attention for the few days they were on bad terms. 

Things were better, suddenly, and Kevin was happier than he'd admit to say when he saw Veronica's smiling face on Betty's snapchat story. 

Everything just fit like puzzle pieces. _They_ fit like a puzzle. Betty and Veronica, Archie and Jughead, Cheryl and Josie, the Cats and Kevin, and this murder mystery trainwreck. It all just fit.

Betty needed Veronica like Veronica needed Betty and _The Chuck Clayton Debacle_ only furthered that point. And suddenly that seemed like how it had always been, how it would always be. B &V, forever forged, or _whatever_.

If anyone ever asked, Kevin would say he called it. But of course, no one was asking...yet.

(Jughead and Betty though, he did not predict. Who would have?)

-*-

 **Jughead:** Okay, temporary truce.

 **Veronica:** is this about Betty's lunch date?

 **Jughead:** YES. How did you already hear about it? She just told me so she could ask if I was "alright with it."

 **Veronica:** and what did you say???

 **Jughead:** I said it was fine? What was I supposed to say? "No, you can't go get lunch with your hot guy friend because, despite the fact we aren't dating, I still don't want you dating anyone else?"

 **Veronica:** yes????????????

 **Veronica:** jfc Jughead, are you even trying????

 **Veronica:** you are the worst rival i've ever had omg

 **Jughead:** I'm sorry I'm bad at this?? I haven't had years of practice courting and warring over people in my own personal soap opera lie you.

 **Veronica:** you are letting the whole team down. 

-*-

 **Kevin:** betty and raj just walked past. laughing and smelling distinctly of pop's.

 **Veronica:** is there only one restaurant in this town wth

-*-

 **Veronica:** hey, b. what are you doing right now?

 **Betty:** Dying.

 **Veronica:** without me? ;)

 **Betty:** Oh my god. You've been hanging out with Reggie Mantel too much.

 **Veronica:** <3333

 **Veronica:** i miss ur face. 

 **Betty:** You'll see it next hour, tear stained and ten years older because Mr. Monel won't stop talking about why there should be an International Men's Day.

 **Veronica:** ick! praying for u.

 **Betty:** Thank you, I need it. See you in Bio.

 **Veronica:** see u soon, smokeshow. ;)

-*-

"Come over tonight?" Veronica offers as she settles onto the stool next to Betty, their Biology teacher handing out packets to the class, pairing them off into groups. Betty sent an alarmed look Kevin's way, but he quickly snapped his gaze away from hers, and pretended to be more interested in whatever Archie was prattling on about with Cheryl.

"Uh...sure." Betty nodded. _With more conviction, c'mon, Elizabeth._ "Yeah, yes. I'd love to." A smile quirked her cheeks and Veronica grinned brightly back. Veronica caught Jughead's gaze from over Betty's shoulder, winking back at the dark scowl he was throwing her way.

"Great! We can watch an Anthony Bourdaine show on Netflix and binge eat candy in our underwear." Veronica said quickly, to keep her from turning around to see Jughead, brooding.

 _In our underwear..._ Betty swallowed and tried her hardest not to blush. There wasn't any reason to blush! Best friends watch food shows and whine about how good it all looks while eating truly ungodly amounts of dark chocolates ( _from Cuba,_ that Veronica received for her quinceanera last year and still had loads of) all the time. _In their underwear_. It was fine. Totally _fine_. 

-*- 

It was not fine and Betty regretted every single moment of her life that led her to this.

(That was an exaggeration.) 

 Veronica hadn't been kidding, or just flirting, when she laid out their plans. They'd barely stepped into Veronica's room in the Pembrooke, the door clicking closed behind Betty, before Ronnie was stripping down. And of course that left Betty blushing, staring, _trying_ very hard _not_ to stare, and most of all, standing in the middle of Veronica's room, looking very uncomfortable.

"Betty?" Veronica had put Betty's cardigan aside on her bed and was halfway down her shirts buttons, and Betty avoided looking at the skin and lace that exposed at risk of actually combusting right then and there. "Betty, you still there?" Veronica's voice had taken on a fond, teasing tone, laughter bubbling just below her words.

"Hmm? Yes! Sorry..." Betty stopped staring at the shard of sunlight on Veronica's wall and dropped her backpack down next to the foot of Ronnie's bed. When she looked, Veronica's skirt was pooling around her ankles, tan legs and tiny lace underwear filling Betty's head and _holy shit-----be cool, Cooper!_

-*- 

 **Betty:** Kevin. 

 **Betty:** Kevin. SOS.

 **Betty:** Kevin. 

 **Betty:** Kevin. Help me.

 **Betty:** Please.

 **Kevin:** phones dying....cant....talk....remember....me....

 **Kevin:** also have fun with ronnie tonite. ;)

-*-

Veronica was so warm, all the time. Even on the coldest, most miserable Riverdale days, she still ran hotter than the electric handwarmers Betty's dad stuffed in her coat pockets on chilly mornings.

Pressed together, beneath Veronica's expensive downy comforters, the heat of Veronica's bare skin was almost too much. Almost. 

Veronica had nodded off sometime in between Anthony Bourdaine eating wild boar in Argentina and Anthony Bourdaine eating naan in India. Now, Anthony Bourdaine was eating _god knows what_ in _god knows where_ and all Betty could focus on was how the steady rise and fall of Veronica's chest felt against her side, and how her breathe felt against her neck and how her hand felt resting against Betty's bare stomach, and _Anthony Bourdaine be damned_ , the peaceful expression on Veronica's face as she dreamed was the only thing Betty had any interest in watching.

That was little creepy, but sue her, she _kindofsortofmaybe_ loved this girl. 

"Relax." Veronica says and it startles Betty because she was so _sure_ she was asleep. 

"Huh?" Betty's voice comes out rough and low, raspy with disuse. 

"You keep tensing up." Veronica explains, her eyes still closed. "Relax." Veronica knee slides over the top of Betty's thigh as she presses closer. "You're cuddled up in bed with your favourite person in the world watching Anthony Bourdaine eat delicious foods in..." Veronica lifts her head to peer at the screen. "Armenia." She turns her head, gaze dark when it settles on Betty's face. "Enjoy it." she practically whispers, and Betty _shivers_.

"Who says you're my---" Veronica gives her a look and Betty's words die in her throat. "Alright, alright." Betty leans her head closer to Veronica, smiles at her sleepy expression. 

"What?" Veronica raises an eyebrow at her, her fingers seeking out Betty's hand underneath the blankets, finding it without much struggle. 

"You were teasing me all day on purpose." Betty states, and Veronica doesn't look too surprised that Betty caught on. Archie was the oblivious one in the group, the rest of them fancied themselves at least on par with the Scooby Gang as far as putting the clues together went. "I thought you were trying to prove something, or trying to win a bet...did you just want my attention, Ronnie?"

"As if I don't always have that." Ronnie teases back, but her expression faulters, and Betty gives her a look. "Heard you went on a lunch date with Raj. How was that?" Veronica asks, settling her head onto Betty's chest.

Realization washes over Betty like a shockwave, a blush blooming on her cheeks as her confusion over Veronica's behavior lifts like a fog.

"Oh." She murmurs. There's a beat of silence, and Veronica almost lifts her head to speak, but then the world is vibrating and her ears are filled with the sweetest sound and ---

"Why are you laughing?" Veronica lifts her head to frown at Betty, finding it nearly impossible with how beautiful Betty looked, stifling giggles into the back of her hand, other hand resting on Veronica's shoulder.

"B-because," Betty caught her breath, slowed her laughter and then shook her head. "Because you're jealous. You! Veronica Lodge! Of me going on a 'date'," Betty makes air quotes with her fingers. "With Raj Patel!"

Veronica scowls, making those two lines between her eyebrows that Betty instantly reaches up to smooth away with her fingertips.

"I am not jealous of you going on a date with Raj Patel!" Veronica growls, low and warning, pushing Betty's hands away. "I just...wanted to make up for the time you wasted with him that you could have been spending with me. Hence the Bourdaine Marathon." Ronnie gestured toward the TV.

"Wow...sure sounds like you were...just a little...jealous?" Betty grins.

"Why would I be jealous of Raj Patel?" Veronica settles her chin on her arm and peers at Betty, eyes all dark and mysterious and glinting, but her mouth isn't curved into it's normal smirk, just a little crack in the confident facade, and it's enough to give Betty the bravery to run her buckles along Veronica's cheekbone. 

"You tell me." Betty breathes.

Veronica looks at her for a moment, and Betty can see her thinking, see her planning, and then she sees her smirking and an odd sort of... _pleasant dread_ settles into her stomach.

"Well, he is very, very handsome. I mean, his hair is always so perfectly styled, don't you think?" Veronica smiles, all wicked quirking of the corners of her mouth and mischief and lipstick. "But, I'm very, very, _very_ pretty, and my hair looks twice as good as his any day, not to mention, I'm more interested in you than I am in a camera, or a _burger_." And that wasn't nice, bringing up Jughead like that. Betty knew Veronica didn't particularly like Jughead, even if she claimed to approve of their budding... _something_ , even if she thought she hid the crinkle of her nose anytime Jughead so much as glanced at Betty for too long, even when she said  _As long as he's there for my girl when she needs him, I guess he's alright._

"Ronnie," Betty began, tone already chiding. 

"It's true. Young Tarantino and True Outsider don't deserve you. They could never appreciate and like you as much as I do." Veronica says it so genuinely, smirking so knowingly at Betty, that Betty doesn't see any reason not to believe her.

"Maybe not." Betty nods.

"And you couldn't ever like them as much as you like me, could you?" Veronica asks, sarcastically and flirty and joking, but there's a glimmer of honesty in her gaze and Betty's smile warms.

"Probably not." Betty shrugs nonchalantly. "I mean, Juggie's a pretty good kisser and Raj did buy me three milkshakes today, so..."

Veronica frowns and huffs, her hot breath puffing against Betty's face. 

"I'm joking, Ronnie. Besides, Raj and I are platonic. It was just a study date." Betty laughs and squeezes Veronica's shoulder. "And, as Kevin likes to say, you're my forever girl." Betty says faux dreamily, batting her eyelashes and giggling.

"Damn straight." Veronica leans in to Betty's space, bringing their faces inches from each other, sobering Betty.

"Betty," Veronica starts after a beat of silence, tone warm and low in that way she always uses before saying something that Betty will be left blushing about when she replays it in her mind the following night.

"Yes?" Betty raises her eyebrows, focusing on Veronica's warm, enrapturing eyes. 

"What if I was jealous of Raj today, and _Lughead_ when he kisses you?" Veronica says, her fingers curling into Betty's palm. 

"Why would you be?" Betty's aware that her gaze has dropped to Veronica's lips, has stayed there for entirely too long to be considered decent, and that the distance between them is shrinking by the second.

"Because...I wanna be the one sharing milkshakes with you and making you blush." _How is Veronica so brave,_ Betty wonders, _laying her feelings out like this without even flinching._

"You've definetly done a lot of both..." Betty mumbles, her tongue darting out to wet her lips. 

"Betty?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I kiss you?"

Betty barely mumbles out a yes before her lips are melding to Veronica's, and _good god_ , if this is the reward she gets after a day of teasing, she'll take it.

-*-

"Are you ever gonna give that back?" Betty asks, tugging on the pink fabric of her cardigan, wrapped snuggly around a pleased looking Veronica.

"Yeah, pastel really isn't your palette, Veronica." Cheryl comments, sipping her cherry cola. 

"Everything is my palette, Cheryl." Veronica kicks the booth just next to Cheryl's leg, a reminder and maybe a little bit a threat. Cheryl meets her gaze, sighs and rolls her eyes.

"Arguable, but okay." Cheryl shrugs it off. 

"Mind if I join this all girl booth?" Josie, a basket of fries in her hands, an offering, asks, smile glinting in the red neon of Pop's, cheekbones sharp even in this late night dimness.

"Of course. We'd be honoured to have THE Josie McCoy gracing us with her star power and fabulousness." Cheryl grins up at Josie, all Colgate ad teeth and genuine excitement ( _????_ ) on her face. Betty and Veronica exchange looks as Cheryl scoots to make room for Josie to sit next to her, still smiling more than they'd seen her smile in the past hour and a half. 

"Cute cardigan, Veronica." Josie comments, smiling knowingly, and Veronica almost kicks her under the table too. "So, what are we talking about? Any hot goss?" 

-*-

"So, Uhm..." Betty turns on her blinker, looks both ways down the empty, street lamp lit street,  _twice,_ and then carefully turns out of the parking lot of Pop's. "Is Cheryl...uh..." 

"Use your words, honey." Veronica says, teasing, the pressure of one of her hands on Betty's thigh really not helping in her quest for concentration or coherency. This was different, this flux of boundaries after the reveal of feelings. It was a dance Betty was in with Jughead and now Veronica too. (That's probably something they should talk about, right? The three of them?)

"Well, I don't want to make assumptions...I've known her for so long I didn't really..." Betty stops, chews on the inside of her cheek and focuses on the road.

A red light up ahead yanks safe driving away as an excuse to avoid Veronica's curious gaze and she's sighs and continues. "But the way she acts around Josie...Is she...well you know her better, so...uhm...and maybe she would have told you...if she were..."

"Betty, are you asking if Cheryl's gay?" Veronica's lips curl into a grin, amusement and humour washing over her features as Betty nods. "She's bi. She thinks anyways. She knows she's into Josie. They kind of have a thing."

"Wait, what?" Betty's eyebrows scrunch and she tilts her head, curious and confused and Veronica can't help but smile at the expression, at the way Betty's ponytail swishes and the way the street light makes her eyes look.

"Yeah. They fool around, go on dates. Josie's too busy for commitment, so they aren't dating per se, but she's Cheryl's girl for sure." Veronica says it so nonchalantly, like it's no big deal, like the mayor's daughter (not)dating Cheryl Blossom, sister of the very dead Jason Blossom, and heir to the Blossom Maple Syrup fortune, wasn't something that would be the _hot goss_ of the town if people knew (and if Jason Blossom's murder wasn't a shadow over everything that happened in this town.)

"Oh..." Betty mumbles, pressing her foot carefully down on the accelerator as the light in front of them turned green, coloring the fog in the air a light teal as they drove through it.

"Speaking of fooling around..." The words were barely out of Veronica's mouth and Betty was already blushing. "Want to go park by the river and makeout til curfew?" 

-*-

"Did you want this back?" The light above the front door of the Pembrooke cast shadows and highlights into Veronica's silky hair and drew attention to the curve of her cheekbone, the darkness of her eyelashes, the cupids bow of her lip. She was looking at Betty with those impossibly dark eyes and a curious tilt to her head, her fingers tugging at the fabric on her shoulder. The pink fabric. Betty's cardigan.

"No, you look good in it." Betty says, smoothing the knit fabric down with the light pressure of her fingertips, trailing down Veronica's stomach. "I like you wearing something of mine...is that weird?"

"Betty Cooper, you romantic." Veronica grinned so bright, Betty almost lost her breath. 

"Romantic? Our friendship? Nooooo." Betty joked, even though she was leaning closer. 

"You seem to have a lot of those...Romantic friendships that is." Veronica's voice is quieter, maybe because Betty's closer or because of something else, but it still makes guilt sting through Betty's chest.

Betty looks down at their feet, Veronica's heels gleaming in the low light, Betty's sneakers just a few inches in front of them.

"It's not a big deal, B." Veronica slides her hand into Betty's and Betty looks up. "I get it. Feelings are complicated. I'm not asking for anything. Just know I'm always here, however you want me to be."

"Even if you do get jealous?" Betty teases and Veronica grins.

"Whatever makes you happy." and the honestly in that statement rings in the air around them, settling into their silence. 

"Do you wanna come up?" Veronica asks, tilting her head toward the door. 

Betty thinks for a moment, then nods. She'll tell her mom she's at Ethel's like she always does. "Of course." 

 


	5. waking up, breaking up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time jump

Betty thinks that's what she misses most. Waking up with Veronica.

Honestly, the order of what she misses most about Veronica changes daily...hourly. But waking up with her? Always in the top 5. 

It happened kind of fast. Their junior year ends, they spend the whole summer wrapped up in each other and then, mere months into their senior year and it's over. 

"I can't. I can't do this right now." Veronica's tears catch the neon light of Pop's, glinting pink and red.

"Veronica, please. Please don't do this." Betty's trying to stay calm, trying to keep from falling apart right there in front of Veronica. Her fingernails dig into her palms for the first time in a long time and she's just trying to remember how to breathe.

"I'm sorry, Betty. I love you. I love you so much. I just...I can't be B&V right now." The click of the passenger door handle puntuates her sentence. "I'm so sorry." She's wiping at her face and getting out of the car and Betty can't breathe, can't get the words out of her mouth, can't say:  _Wait! Stop! Please! Baby, we can work this out. We always work things out, please. I need you._

Winter Break comes as a blessing. Not having to see Veronica makes things a little better (but a little worse too, Betty misses her so much). 

Betty's aware that this breakup is going to do what breakups always do in their little group: make things weird for a long time until they can sit down and have a milkshake together again. 

Right now, Betty can't imagine having a milkshake with Veronica without crying. She wishes she could be stronger during this. She knows she should be more independent, that she should suck it up, wipe her tears away and say "that's life." but she can't. She can't.

-*-

Betty throws up when she finds out Veronica and Reggie are dating. She barely makes it into the bathroom stall before she's losing the breakfast her dad had made her that morning. Her phone lands on the linoleum next to the toilet hard, clattering. When Betty looks, there's a crack across her screen, across the photo of Veronica and Reggie grinning for Instagram, hearts adorning the picture. She would think it was fitting, her phone breaking, maybe, if she weren't hit with another wave of nausea, sending her coughing and gagging again.

-*- 

It's been a few months and Betty thinks she's ready. She answers Veronica's text and the day is planned out. 

They meet at Betty's apartment.

It had taken some convincing and a little bit of pitting her parents against each other, but finally Betty's 18th birthday came and a few weeks later she had the keys to her apartment. It's tiny, one bedroom, one bathroom, and a living room that usually had Archie and Vegas asleep on the couch. 

When Veronica walks in, Archie pales, looks at Betty and picks up his backpack. Vegas is already leashed, which clues Veronica into the fact that he had already been informed that she was coming and to make himself scarce. He rubs his face, smoothing the beard he'd been trying out. It made him look more like his dad. 

"I'll see you later, Betts." He picks up the end of Vegas' leash. "Ronnie." 

-*-

"I brought back your cardigan." Betty thinks it's that sentence that breaks her. She keeps the tears back, just barely, but she has to sit down and focus on breathing, and that doesn't go unnoticed by Veronica.

"Betty...please." 

"I'm fine." Betty waves her off. She picks up a bag sitting next to her bed and offers it out to Veronica. "Here's your stuff. I still have some more of your clothes at my mom's, I'll drop them off at your place when I can." Veronica nods. Her jaw is tight, the muscles next to her ears flexing, Betty can tell she's tense, mulling something over.

"Do you wanna watch a movie together?" She asks after a few beats of silence.

"Veroni-" Betty starts.

"We said we'd try to be friends." Veronica cut her off.

"And then you didn't try to be anything with me for months, Veronica." Betty snapped. Veronica looked down.

"I'm sorry." She says, and Betty is just kind of sick of hearing that. 

"I know." Betty says coldly, folding some of the clothes Veronica had returned to her. 

"It's just been hard." And Betty can see Veronica regrets saying that, phrasing it like that. 

"Tell me about it." Veronica doesn't think she's ever heard Betty sound so...hurt.

-*-

Betty doesn't know how they got here. Sitting on Betty's bed, a foot of space between them, a movie playing on her TV, and silence. 

Them a few months ago would be kissing, Betty's hand under Veronica's skirt, hickies trailing up and down Betty's neck, way too close to each other.

She doesn't know how they got here and she hates it. She hates it so much.

"Veronica..." Betty starts when the movie ends.

"Betty..." Veronica puts her hands up, to stop whatever Betty was planning on saying. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, okay? This has all been really hard for me and I'm sorry."

Betty sighs, "I know..."

"I know you know. I just...I love you. I love you so much and it kills me that I hurt you. I want to stop hurting you. I wanna make things better, baby." Veronica scoots closer to Betty, slowly takes her hand, as if she thought Betty was gonna pull away if she moved too fast. "I can't really explain what I've been going through, and I'm sorry I've been dealing with it like this, but I wanna make it up to you. I wanna fix things. Do you think we can still fix things?"

-*-

"You two look like you're doing better." Cheryl says, straw leaned against her bright red lips as she scrolled through her phone sitting on the counter next her.

"Two burgers, a vanilla milkshake and a chocolate milkshake, please." Veronica leaned over the counter, smiling brightly at Pop. He nodded to her. "Yeah." She said as she looked at Cheryl. "We're really good now."

"No more Reggie?"

Veronica laughs. "No, no more Reggie. I'm never dating a drug dealer again"

"Soooo..." Cheryl swirled her straw around in her milkshake. 

"Not yet." Veronica says, glancing over her shoulder at Betty, sitting at their booth, smiling out the window. "But we're getting there. We're fixing things."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> prompt: can you do a fic where Beronica breaks up and then makes up

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to send me a prompt!


End file.
